Daylight Savings: Why are the clocks still going back in winter?

While most smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other electronic items will update automatically, older mechanical items will need to be adjusted.

Ireland will officially move to ‘winter time’ tonight — when the clocks go back by one hour on the stroke of 2am.

While most smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other electronic items will update automatically, older mechanical items will need to be adjusted.

But why do we do it when most of the world does not?

Here's everything you need to know.

When do they change?

The clocks will go back an hour at 2am on Sunday, October 31.

Every year, the clocks change on the last weekend in March and October.

They went forward an hour on March 28 and will go forward again in March next year.

Why do they change at all?

The clocks change in order to make the best use of the natural sunlight as the year progresses.

In winter, when it's naturally darker, time goes back by an hour, which means an extra hour wrapped in bed, however, in summer, the clocks going forward an hour makes for longer evenings.

The impact of the change varies, with countries further from the equator who experience more hours of darkness, benefitting most from the system.

When did it start?

The British Summer Time (BST) idea was first introduced in the UK in 1907 by William Willett.

Mr Willett believed that valuable daylight was being wasted in the morning time during the summer months with people staying in bed, and published The Waste of Daylight outlining his plans to adjust the clocks to solve the problem.

"Light is one of the greatest gifts of the Creator to man. While daylight surrounds us, cheerfulness reigns, anxieties press less heavily, and courage is bred for the struggle of life," he wrote.

However, it wasn't until May 1916 that Britain and Ireland first started changing their clocks after passing the Summer Time Act.

Why is this still happening?

In 2019, the European Parliament voted that daylight saving time should be abolished by April 2021, but a final decision on it has yet to take place.

Member States had to decide whether they wanted to stay in summertime or wintertime.

An EU-wide survey found that more than 80% of citizens were in favour of scrapping the clock changes.

The Irish department of justice had previously outlined concerns about having two different time zones on the island of Ireland as a result of the UK leaving the EU.

"Considering the overwhelming support of EU citizens, I firmly believe that it is time to renew discussions on the abolishment of the biannual clock change at EU level," said Ireland South MEP Sean Kelly MEP.

“Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic have undeniably put plans to tackle this issue on hold,” the Fine Gael MEP said.

"It is time to reinvigorate the issue so that during this term, we can get rid of this outdated practice.” 

What are the negative effects of daylight savings?

“The harmful effects of the clock change can have on citizens’ health have been well researched,” said Mr Kelly. 

“Farmers and those working outside in rural environments are oftentimes the worst affected by the change in daylight hours, but it also puts additional pressures on those who struggle with mental health difficulties.” 

Gardaí have also said break-ins could rise by as much as 20% over the coming months when daylight hours are at their lowest level.